Heath Herring

Pride Fighting Championships: How did you feel when you heard that you would be fighting Mirko? Heath Herring: I was really excited when I heard. Mirko beat Sapp recently in K-1 and I also lost my last fight so I think this is a chance for me to put my name up their with the top fighters. I want a fierce fight.

Pride:	So you're confident?
Herring:	Yes, completely! I can't wait for the fight.
Pride:	Mirko said he would be fine on the ground or standing up. How would you like to win?
Herring:	You'll see when you watch me fight on Sunday. I can fight standing up or on the ground.
Pride:	What's your strategy?
Herring:	Don't wait. Keep the pressure on him and don't let him lead the fight. It's very important that I keep this as my fight.
Pride:	Have you studied Mirko's weak points?
Herring:	I can't talk about it now. It will be clear on Sunday.
Pride:	What did you work on in preparation for Mirko?
Herring:	Basically concentrating on everything that I have done until now, except much harder. I've been training with Stefan Leko, my brother and other Golden Glory members. The reason that I haven't done any specific training for Mirko is that until I got the offer for this fight 2 weeks ago, I was scheduled to fight a different fighter.
Pride:	How about your striking?
Herring:	Golden Glory's practice mainly centers around muay thai and kickboxing. I also train in wrestling because that's my background. I get enough practice in standing and groundwork.
Pride:	This will be Mirko's first fight under pure PRIDE rules. Do you think you have an advantage there?
Herring:	Of course, it's an advantage for me.
Pride:	How?
Herring:	You can't adjust to new rules so quickly. It will be a different fight than when he fought Fujita and Sakuraba. I think there will be a lot of groundwork. It'll be a tough fight for Mirko.